The Grizzlies capped off the 2015 season with a 10-0 victory on Sunday night against the Lake Erie Crushers at GCS Ballpark. Gateway secured their sixth straight win and ended the campaign by winning 15 of 18 games.
More than 7,000 fans packed the ballpark while Aviston, Ill. native Trevor Richards (6-6) dazzled through eight scoreless innings on the mound. The rookie picked up his sixth win of the year.
The Grizzlies (45-50) struck early and often against Crushers LHP Brad Zambron (3-8). Cody Livesay led off the game with a double and it was followed by an RBI groundout from Seth Heck. After an RBI single from Grant Buckner, the Grizzlies loaded the bases with two outs. Richard Seigel stepped to the dish and laced a bases-clearing double. Gateway jumped out to a 5-0 lead in the opening frame.
Lake Erie (38-57) fell further behind in the second inning. Livesay popped his first homer of the year to right field, making it 6-0. Heck then laced a single which was followed up by Craig Massoni’s two-run blast. Massoni’s sixth homer of the season put Gateway up 8-0.
Buckner, who was playing in his final professional game, tacked on to the lead with a two-run double in the sixth. Buckner finished the season with 49 RBI. Ben Waldrip also collected three hits in the contest.
RHP Pete Perez entered the game to replace Richards in the ninth. Perez dealt a scoreless frame to close out the year.
The Grizzlies finished the season by winning six straight series, including a series sweep of Lake Erie. The team went 27-18 after the Frontier League’s all-star break.
